Heineken Cup: Top five away wins

Will Greenwood picks the Heineken Cup victories away from home that have impressed him most.

Man to man: Leinster's Brian O'Driscoll is tackled by Harlequins' David Strettle in a match that was so much more than the 'Bloodgate' incidentPhoto: AFP/GETTY IMAGES

5:27PM BST 09 Apr 2010

April 12, 2009: Harlequins 5, Leinster 6

The game will forever be remembered for 'Bloodgate'.But this low-scoring epicwas about so much more. It saw the continued emergence of young Irish heroes Rob Kearney, Luke Fitzgerald and Jamie Heaslip. The No 8, Heaslip, just got better and better, using the tournament as a springboard to rank himself among world's best back-row forwards. Rocky Elsom again proved himself to be the best player in the competition, as he would right through to the final. While Stan Wright, the giant Cook Island prop, put in two tackles in the dying seconds – one on Ceri Jones and then, unbelievably, Ugo Monye – that kept Quins out. This quarter-final will be talked about for all the wrong reasons. The game itself was spectacular, even with a football score.

April 1, 2006: Toulouse 35, Leinster 41

The opposite end of the spectrum in terms of scores, was this cracker. If Leinster's win over Quins was about bodies on line and bravery, then this was all about speed of thought and a 'he who dares Rodney' attitude. Felipe Contepomi was injured for the 2009 final but matches such as this laid the foundations for their eventual victory in the competition. The Argentine can on occasion be temperamental but when the mood takes him Contepomi is a master conjurer. At Stade Toulouse he had the famous Frenchmen chasing shadows all day. Inside balls and deft handiwork in heavy traffic so that Shane Horgan could fix the big defenders and release Brian O'Driscoll and Gordon D'Arcy. It was breathtaking to watch and was capped by a Denis Hickie length-of-the-field try that ranks up there with the best.

Unbeaten Leinster looked to be cruising in the competition. Undefeated in their group and a home quarter-final in front of packed house. The deathly silence not long into the game suggested seasoned supporters knew it was one of those days you didn't want to play Leicester. The Tigers were backed into a corner, underdogs, and loving every second of it. Ollie Smith booked himself a Lions berth with his performance against Brian O'Driscoll. Tough, straight-running, ball-handling and try-scoring on the top dog's home paddock. And another of those stand-out performances by Geordan Murphy at full-back left you wondering why Eddie O'Sullivan never really trusted him. The pack were terrifying and Lewis Moody set the benchmark for restart takes by regathering and setting up Daryl Gibson for a try. Lansdowne Road was stunned.

April 13, 2003: Leicester 7, Munster 20

England's 2003 Grand Slam and World Cup was built on Leicester foundations. So for Munster to go to Welford Road and bury Leicester, for that is what they did, was a quite stunning victory.

Another of those days that reinforced everyone's opinion that Munster must surely lift the crown. Coming the year after Neil Back's nifty handiwork meant that Munster were after his blood, when in reality players such as Alan Quinlan and Jim Williams would surely have applauded Back's skulduggery behind closed doors. Went some way to settling the score that fans will never forget.

Munster still lacked a unit from 11 to 15 that would give them the balance needed to lift the title. But in Ronan O'Gara they've had the best fly-half the Heineken Cup has known. Scored one and set Peter Stringer up for the other. Leicester were never in with a shout.

January 26, 2002: Stade Français 14, Munster 16

After Munster's heartbreak in the 2000 final it was games such as this that made them everyone's favourite second-choice team.Stade had Fabien Galthié and Diego Dominguez at nine and 10, a pack who didn't lose at home and the razor sharp Frank Comba. Today, Munster may have wings such as Doug Howlett and Keith Earls but back then they had relative unknowns like Ian Dowling, John Kelly and Anthony Horgan.

Kelly scored the fourth try in the miracle match against Gloucester, this time the crucial effort came from Anthony Horgan. They may be unrecognised outside Limerick but they were integral to Munster's early campaigns.They began to make winning in France fashionable for the Irish.